


Balls, Milkshakes and Fries

by amburdawn



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2016-03-27
Packaged: 2018-05-29 13:26:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6376762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amburdawn/pseuds/amburdawn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn’t meant to be a real date but when Ray first set eyes on Laurel he knew tonight wasn’t going to go as he planned. </p><p>Pairing: Laurel Lance/Ray Palmer</p>
            </blockquote>





	Balls, Milkshakes and Fries

It was Ray’s first public outing since he had been declared alive.A charity event for underprivileged youth in Star City. More like it was just a way for the elite of the city to drink champagne and show how much money they had. Ray just really didn’t want to go alone. The questions were going to be bad enough, but if the women were anything like they had been before his ‘death’ he really didn’t look forward to going alone. Felicity and Kendra were out with their past and Thea was just to young. Which left Sara and Laurel, and really he wasn’t certain Sara wouldn’t ditch him for a pretty face.

Laurel knew her way around these parties and she had thought one of the perks of not dating a billionaire would be she didn’t have to go to them. Except somehow she always found herself at them, either because she was connected to the charity or she was being dragged to one. When Ray had asked she couldn’t say no. He deserved the vultures preying on him less than anybody. It was just two friends, and she used that term lightly, trying to survive something more annoying than the apocalypse together.

The moment he saw her dressed in a red dress that curved to her figure in a way that made him wonder how he got her into it, he knew that something was going to be different about tonight. “You look stunning.” He watched her walk over to him, unable to take his eyes off of her. His heart racing as she got closer and kissed his cheek. 

“Thank you Ray. You looked quite handsome yourself.” It was pure habit she told herself, that had her straightening his tie. She grabbed her coat and bag and graced him with a smile. “Come on Mr. Palmer let’s go have some fun.”

The charity ball is as boring as ever and her cheeks hurt from the smile that has been plastered over her face all night. Ray hasn’t moved far from her side and if he had been anyone else she would be surprised that he hadn’t bitten someones head off. He’s as much like a puppy as he ever is, but Laurel knows there is a bite underneath it all. She has seen the look in his eyes and she can see it now. 

Something or someone is about to bring out the guard dog in him and she glances over her shoulder to see who it is. Carter Bazen and his pretty little girlfriend. “Save me from them, please” She would laugh if the words hadn’t been echoing around in her head and before she can reply he is pulling her off toward the dance floor. 

“It’s funny Carter manages to charm most but none of the men I have dated have ever liked him. And I think it has very little to do with the fact that he likes to hit on me.” She places her hands in his as he starts to lead them in a dance. “Boyfriend? So does that mean I get a goodnight kiss after all of this?” Laurel’s face goes pink as she looks up at Ray. A small smirk crosses her features. “Well you just might from saving me from sharing this dance with Carter. Still have to survive the rest of the night though and that is much easier said than done.” Both of them glance around the room at her comment identical looks of dread for the next couple of hours.

The time goes by faster than either of them expected. Not everyone was there to gawk at the man who returned from the dead and they had an interesting conversation with an older couple who said they reminded them of when they were starting out. Apparently they looked hopelessly in love and Laurel was much better off without that Queen boy. She didn’t start the conversation that Oliver was a changed man, he had always been capable of defending himself and it was nice to hear her being the one that could do better for once. She knew most of these people had only seen her as a gold digger.

Ray slides on her coat and she lets out a sigh. “I’m hungry.” The food had been exquisite but it certainly wasn’t a meal. It had been hours since she had eaten. He hesitates as he finishes helping her with her coat. “I’m sure somewhere is still open. And everyone is here so I doubt we would need reservations.”

Laurel lets out a laugh as he talks about reservations and steps away so she can turn and face him. “I was just going to hit up a diner. No one is going to care what we look like there and I want a shake.” The smile that lights up his face does something to her and she wonders if maybe the boyfriend comment hadn’t just been a slip of the tongue. “That sounds… that sounds perfect. I haven’t had a good burger since I’ve been back in Star City. And isn’t it so cool that they used my name for the city.”

She echoes his laugh and kisses him on the cheek. It doesn’t take them long to get to the diner and she knew it must look a little weird to see a limo pull up in front of a twenty four hour diner with two people dressed to the nines but it hadn’t been the first time it had happened. Laurel takes Ray’s hand as she leads him inside and everybody only stares for a second before they go back to their lives. “We used to come here after dances in high school. It was a good way to sober up. Especially before my dad found out I had been drinking.” He would have killed her.

“I didn’t exactly drink much before college, but we had a place like this. Not that we were ever dressed this nice.” Sometimes she forgot that Ray had built his own company. He wasn’t the rich playboy that had inherited his daddy’s money that she was used to. Ray Palmer was a completely different brand all together. 

“Well you didn’t drink tonight either.” She was grateful for that fact. It wasn’t as tempting but it was harder when the person she was with was drinking and she knew she shouldn’t. “It’s no problem. I don’t enjoy it that much anyways.” Their food is placed in front of them and she takes the milkshake and brings it closer. “Well I hope you will enjoy drinking this.” She watches Ray take a drink of his milkshakes and laughs.

“Stop, you’e not doing it right.” He stops with a confused look but still places the shake down. “How do you drink a milkshake wrong?” The confusion is adorable on his face and she smiles widely, happy to teach him. Laurel picks up a fry and holds it in front of her face. “Okay first you have to grab one of these, than you do this.” She dipped the fry in the shake before eating it. The look of disgust on his face made her let out a humph. “Well try it before you judge me.”

He looks at her and than the fries. Laurel doesn’t budge except to repeat the action. “Jax does the same thing.” He picks up a fry but just stares at it. “Well than I guess I will have to exchange my boyfriend for a younger model.” She watches him dip his fry and take a bite. Laurel is laughing so hard as she watches him. He looked like a child being forced to eat his vegetables. Eyes shut tight and looking like he’s going to his death.

“This isn’t so bad. I guess you’ll have to keep me as your boyfriend after all.” She takes another look at him smiles. “Yeah I guess I will.”


End file.
